Aditya Singhal wins 'India's Best Dramebaaz'

He was called "the silent one" on "India's Best Dramebaaz" (IBD), and 13-year-old Aditya Singhal's sheer talent helped him win the reality show meant for children in the age group of five to 15 years.

The youngster, who was the eldest among the finalists, was thrilled about his victory.

The show, judged by Sonali Bendre, Anurag Basu and Vivek Oberoi, aimed at grooming children by testing their creativity, spontaneity and acting capability.

Aditya, a student of Bishops's Co-ed School in Pune, raced ahead of his fellow finalists, and walked away with the 'Golden Keeda' trophy on the show.

If the entertaining finale saw youngsters showing their dancing skills by performing on a medley of old and news songs - "Ek do teen" to "Yahoo", the guests - Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone's act was like icing on the cake.

The duo, who came to promote their film "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani", grooved on the chartbuster "Balam Pichkari" and "Badtameez dil" from the forthcoming movie.

What was interesting was their act on the famous song "Pyar hua ekraar" from Ranbir's grandfather Raj Kapoor's film "Shree 420". The couple performed with the participants on the song and later imitated the Raj Kapoor and Nargis' pose, which is the logo of RK Films.

If that wasn't enough, Anurag Basu took to stage to do a skit and his performance was so heartwarming that it made everyone sentimental.

Praising him, Ranbir, who worked with Basu in "Barfi!", said that it proves "he is not only a good director, but a great actor too".

The other finalists of the show were Anjali Astha (10), Chinmay Deshkar (12), Mehnaaz Mann (8), Nihar Gite (6), and Praneet Sharma (5).

"Even though I am thrilled on winning the show, I just don't want it to end. 'India's Best Dramebaaz' has given me so much. I'll miss the stage, the performances, Anurag da, Sonali didi, Vivek bhaiyya, Rithvik (Dhanjani) and Ragini didi (Ragini Khanna). I have learnt so much about acting from all of them and especially my mentor on the show, Alok Ulfat," said Aditya.

He has even made friends with his contenders.

"I have made some very special friends in Chinmay and Abhishek. We used to do a lot of masti (fun) on the sets. Unfortunately, both of them fell sick and had to opt out even though they were not eliminated. I feel bad for them, but we'll be friends for life," he added.

Aditya has earlier taken part in state-level acting competitions through an acting institute called Natya Sanskar.

A Shah Rukh Khan fan, he also seeks inspiration from Paresh Rawal's versatility.

To make the contestants feel completely at home, Zee TV had the families of the young contestants join them on stage to present family skits and dramas.